If you are looking for a family oriented area I think you are better off going for South London. Crystal Palace SW26 area is really nice with loads of parks and sports centres with good kids classes.

£350 is a good budget for anywhere, but you will get more for your money down there.(prices have always been cheaper because it wasn't on the tube, this has recently changed because they built a new line to link up the national sports centre for the olympics, but prices have not caught up yet so you should be able to get a nice house with a garden for £350 per week.

40 minutes to the vic at night time by road about the same by tube and, usefully, there is a night bus from oxford circus, which is 10 minutes walk from the vic.

csk,
You can catch a pic of yours truly on my blog which you can find in the Beginners Questions section under the announcement: Beginner's Blogs. Obviously I don't look much like the photo as I'm just trying to look like my PKR avatar and of course I don't wear the same gear in real life but I do like to put on white, heart-shaped sunglasses at The Fox for a laugh sometimes just to lighten the mood Oh, and on every other Wednesday I like to dress up in women's clothing and be called Mildred.

Headed to London for 2 weeks. First week I am staying at thistle St Albans, the second week at thistle Brands hatch.

In the US I am used to playing 2-5 NL

Are there any poker rooms near these places that someone could recommend?

Ha, I check your blog at least twice daily. You got me interested in playing live poker. How come both of my replies to your blog posts got deleted?

Big cash games at the International this week:

Monday: Dealers Choice action starting from 6pm with club boss Barry Martin providing the value with a stack of each (SOE) (£2620)

Wednesday: PLO and again starting at 6pm with Barry on the SOE £2620 and not passing much.

Thursday: i-Stakes Poker....Massive NLH £2-£5 (opt £10) action all shown on the TV table with thousands watching at home. Last month at one stage there were 3177 people watching from around the world. Again 6pm start. Free food and drink to all players in these games (last month there were 3 of these table running with a list!!)

Friday: More sickness of the highest order with £2-£5 NLH games.

min/max for the 2/5 please?

On the I-Stakes NLHE table on Thursday it's £1k min sit-down, no maximum.

£2/£5 tables (including the feeder tables on Thursday) are £250 min, no max.

£2/£2 tables are £100 minimum, no max.

£1/£2 tables are £50 minimum, no max.

is the SOE thing like the min buyin? or is the the only possible buyin?
what are the blinds for the PLO?

absolutely and im totally in!

The PLO is likely to be very deep 1/2.

I think "SOE" was Barry just saying what he personally would be buying in for in the Round of Each game.

'stack' = 20 chips
100 + 25 + 5 + 1 = 132, 132 * 20 = £2,620

Really should be a rack of each tho dontcha think?

oh i see, i thought its kind of a way to ensure that the game is played deep, so everybody buys buys in for that.
so its a 1/2 game with like for example 200 min or smthing and ppl tend to buy in for as much as +1000 bb ?

and i guess that means the buyin is not particularly capped?

sounds lovely, if i can make it, ill give it a try. never been to the int before though...

You're right on all those points.

It's a private members club, but if you're coming for the first time you'll be able to get signed in as a guest and play.

I'll be playing the Dealer's Choice tonight at The International. My buy in is about £300 which is ample. Typical buy ins range from £150 to £1000 but you can sit down with as little as £50. I would recommend £120 as a more playable minimum buy in.

Barry is juicing the game up by sitting down with £2620 and it may well bring in some other big stacks to the game.

This is a £1/£2 game though so sitting not too deep is a solid strategy.

Should be a good game.

-- Capital,
It's nice to know that my blog has inspired players to take up more live poker but I have only ever deleted one post and that was a promotional video that someone posted.

Quick noob question

I'm thinking about going to the Empire to play cash sometime later this week, but I've never been to a casino before and don't know the first thing about it. I've only played live in tournaments in a local poker room, and I really don't want to look too much like a clueless idiot when I get there (that can wait until I fumble my chips).

So I wonder if someone can explain what I actually do when I get there? I mean, step by step - how do I get chips, join a table, etc. I should add - I know how to play live, so I don't need to be told about announcing raises, the one chip rule, etc. I'm OK once sat down and playing, but clueless about how to get to that point.

I know it sounds stupid, but we all have to start somewhere!

Thanks in advance lovely London posters (be nice to the poor fool please)

Firstly, go somewhere else!

Secondly, ask the desk to put your name down on a list, or they'll seat you if they have seats available. Different cardrooms have different protocols, at the empire you sit down and ask for chips, a runner picks up your cash and will bring them to you. At other cardrooms you have to buy them from the desk.

Then you get dealt cards.

In terms of tips for playing live, announce all your plays before making them 'bet x, call' - with folding you don't need to announce it, better in fact not to as that avoids the appearance of angling when someone mishears you. If someone asks you a question when you're in the middle of a hand, don't reply. Don't talk in the middle of a hand. When you're not in a hand, don't talk to anyone involved or talk across the action - i.e. if you're in seat 5, don't talk to seat 7 if seat 6 is involved. Take breaks - even a brief walk around leicester square will do - at least every 2 hours, probably more like 1 hour depending on how likely you are to get bored. When you're on break, try not to think about poker. If you think you played a hand badly, try to store it mentally (or even better, write out the hand history for later review on your phone or something) rather than stew on it. Lastly, try to have fun and engage those around you in non-poker conversations. A friendly banter at the tables makes for a more enjoyable experience and more importantly people will relax, meaning they play worse.

That's great - thank you.

Ha no worries man. Dunno what happened- was just posting congrats on some of your sessions. Keep the live session posts coming and I hope to see you at the empire soon.

Any 1/2 regs from The Vic in here?

I've played a fair few times. More 1/1 though. Not too comfortable having £1200 in my pocket when £600'll do for the 1/1.

Why do you ask?

Iv just started playing their daily during the daytime though, just wondering if there are any 2p2ers in the mix. You take 6 buy ins with you?

i wouldn't see myself as a 1/2 reg but a vic reg. and if theres nothing else available i do play the 1/2 as well ....

as far as carrying the cash is concerned, just keep like 3-5 buyins in the players account, and the rest on your savings account in the bank.
so you dont have to carry any cash wse with you

You can just debit any amount at the cashier at the Vic, you don't need to walk in there with the cash. This doesn't solve the problem of walking out with wads of cash, but I what I generally do is make sure I'm leaving at a time when the banks on Edgware road are open and just deposit it all immediately. If that isn't possible I get them to call me a cab. Because I'm a pussy.

3 - 200bb buyin